Kenya Travel Information: 10 Top Tourist Attractions in Kenya

For many people, Kenya is East Africa in microcosm, is an enriching place to travel with its diverse geography, world-class wildlife viewing, culture and heritage. The main tourist attractions are photo safaris through the 19 national parks and game reserves. Other attractions include the mosques at Mombasa; the renowned scenery of the Great Rift Valley; the coffee plantations at Thika; a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro across the border into Tanzania; and the beaches along the Indian Ocean. They all provide abundant adventure opportunities for a travel itinerary.

10. Samburu National Reserve

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The Samburu National Reserve is a game reserve on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Kenya. It is very peaceful and attracts animals because of the Ewaso Ng'iro river that runs through it and the mixture of forest and grassland vegetation. There is a wide variety of animal and bird life seen at Samburu National Reserve. All three big cats known as the Masai lion, Tanzanian cheetah and leopard can also be found here, as well as the elephant, Cape buffalo and Hippopotamus. The Ewaso Ng'iro river contains large numbers of crocodile basks.

9. Hell's Gate National Park

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Hell's Gate National Park lies south of Lake Naivasha in Kenya. It is unique among Kenya’s wildlife parks, as you are allowed to walk or cycle without a guide. It is known for its wide variety of wildlife: including leopards, baboons, hartebeest, eland, ostriches, gazelles, and more than 100 species of birds as well as eagle and vulture breeding grounds. And for its scenery: includes the Fischer's Tower and Central Tower columns and Hell's Gate Gorge. The park is equipped with three basic campsites and includes a Maasai Cultural Center, providing education about the Maasai tribe's culture and traditions.

8. Malindi

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Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Galana River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It provides a very nice introduction to the coastal tourist attractions in Kenya with its extensive coral reefs and beautiful beaches. There are surfing, snorkeling, deep-sea fishing and other water sports. Another popular tourist attraction is the Falconry of Kenya, a rehabilitation center for sick and injured birds. In addition, visitors can visit the Jami Mosque, two pillar tombs from the 14th century, and the Church of St Francis Xavier, one of East Africa's oldest churches.

7. Mount Kenya

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Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. Mount Kenya is a stratovolcano created approximately 3 million years after the opening of the East African rift. It was covered by an ice cap for thousands of years. This has resulted in very eroded slopes and numerous valleys radiating from the centre. The mountain offers a beautiful sight. Its series of peaks are crowned with snow, and its slopes are covered with forest. Many alpine species are endemic to Mount Kenya, such as the giant lobelias and senecios and a local subspecies of rock hyrax.

6. Lake Naivasha

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Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya, outside the town of Naivasha in Nakuru County, which lies north west of Nairobi. It is part of the Great Rift Valley. More than 400 species of birds have been spotted here, including African fish eagles. Hippos slosh in the water, and giraffes, zebra, buffalo, and eland graze around the edges of the lake. There are two smaller lakes in the vicinity of Lake Naivasaha: Lake Oloiden and Lake Sonachi (a green crater lake). And the Crater Lake Game Sanctuary features a wildlife-rich nature trail.

5. Lamu Island

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Lamu Island is a part of the Lamu Archipelago of Kenya. Lamu Old Town, as the oldest living town in Kenya. It is one of the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlements in East Africa. Built in coral stone and mangrove timber, the town is characterized by the simplicity of structural forms enriched by such features as inner courtyards, verandas, and elaborately carved wooden doors. Lamu Town has retained all the charm and character built up over centuries. There are no roads on the island, just alleyways and footpaths, and therefore, there are few motorized vehicles on the island. Residents move about on foot or by boat, and donkeys are used to transport goods and materials.

4. Lake Nakuru

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Lake Nakuru lies to the south of Nakuru, in the rift valley of Kenya and is protected by Lake Nakuru National Park. The lake's abundance of algae used to attract a vast quantity of flamingos that famously lined the shore. Other birds also flourish in the area, as do warthogs, baboons and other large mammals. The flamingos are one of Kenya’s top attractions.

3. Tsavo National Park

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Tsavo is the largest national park in Kenya and one of the largest in the world. Due to its size the park was divided into Tsavo West and Tsavo East. Tsavo East is famous for photo-worthy sightings of large elephant herds rolling and bathing in red dust. The palm-fringed Galana River twists through the park providing excellent game viewing. Other highlights here include the Yatta Plateau, the world's longest lava flow, Mudanda Rock, and the Lugard Falls. Tsavo West is wetter and topographically more varied with some of the most beautiful scenery in the northern reaches of the park. Highlights here are Mzima Springs, a series of natural springs with large populations of hippos and crocodiles, Chaimu Crater. Tsavo National Park is the ideal destination in Kenya for people who seek solitude and privacy as well as the chance to explore the wilderness.

2. Amboseli National Park

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Amboseli National Park, formerly Maasai Amboseli Game Reserve, is in Kajiado County, Kenya. 240 kilometers (150 miles) southeast from the capital city Nairobi, Amboseli National Park is the second most popular national park in Kenya after Maasai Mara National Reserve. It is one of the best places in Africa to view large herds of elephants up close. Other wildlife commonly spotted in the park includes big cats such as lion and cheetah as well as giraffe, impala, eland, waterbuck, gazelle, and more than 600 species of birds. Other attractions of the Amboseli National Park include opportunities to meet the Maasai people and spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro.

1. Maasai Mara National Reserve

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The Maasai Mara National Reserve is located in the south west of Kenya and west of the capital Nairobi. It is famous for Masai lions, African leopards and Tanzanian cheetahs, and the annual migration of zebra, Thomson's gazelle, and wildebeest to and from the Serengeti every year from July to October, known as the Great Migration. The Masai Mara National Reserve is one of the top tourist attractions in Kenya and the country’s most popular game park.